Ports Worried Over Player’s Trials Arrangement

Sierra Leone Premier League club Ports Authority FC has authorised one Charles Dean to act as their representative on all issues relating to the trials of their winger, Nathaniel Tongovula aka ‘Anderson’, with any club in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS).

The 18-year-old is presently undergoing trials with Seattle Sounders FC’s second team, but Ports Authority officials say they are unaware of the player’s current trials arrangement with the MLS club.

In a letter dated February 17, 2015 that was addressed to the General Secretary of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), the Ports Authority FC scribe, Idrissa ‘Mago’ Tarawallie, called on the FA to intervene in addressing the “irregularity” allegedly created by their head coach, Ken Tabi regarding the player’s ongoing trials with the United States based club.

The letter reads: “In the interest of our club and the player, we wish to state that our club executive is not aware of the current trial arrangement with Seattle Sounders FC 2 involving our player. Our executive is only aware of an invitation earlier sent by Sporting Kansas City soccer club through Charles Dean who helped the player secure a three years American entry visa.”

According to Tarawallie, the player was earlier invited by Sporting Kansas City to undergo trials with them in June 2014 and it was on that note that the midfielder secured the American entry visa.

“Since then we were left in the dark by coach Ken on the player’s issue which urged us to invite him to a meeting, and it was during that meeting we established the fact that coach Ken was playing double standards and had surreptitiously caused the player’s parents to sign an agency agreement which is not registered with the SLFA,” he added.

“In our meeting with Ken, it was resolved that we go by Charles Dean’s arrangement but since then, our coach had held on to the player’s passport thereby frustrating every attempt to continue with the arrangement.”

However, efforts to reach coach Ken on his 079023502 cell phone line for his comment proved abortive.